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SAMUEL LowERY, OPHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

iviAxINGy iiaIcK's.

specification of'lLtter'sPatent No. 4,45`7,ldated April 1s,` 184e.

T0 all whom Muay concern: l

i Be it known that I, SAMUEL LowERY, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,lhave invented a new Vand Improved Mode of Making Brick; and I do herebydeclare that the'following is a full and exact description.

The nature of my invention consists in making bricks on railroad cars,peculiarly constructed' for that purpose, in passing, or descending aninlined plane, at -which time, the clay on the cars being pressed,formed, and made perfect in bricks in such a way, that, when the carsarrive at the foot of the inclined plane, the perfect ready made bricks,may be removed from the cars, and the operation renewed.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and to use my invention, Iwill proceed to describe its construction and operation.

I construct my brick making apparatus in the following manner, andreferred to in the accompanying drawings.

There is Figure l, (A) a short distance of a level railroad of threetracks, marked (a, a, cn). (Z), b, 5,) are posts to supportthe sills ofsaid railroad, which are elevated to a proper height from the ground.(B) An inclined plane of some length, and a descent of abo-ut ten feetin fifty. (c, c, c, c, &c.,) Are six rails, or three tracks, constructedand braced, in the common way. (d, d, 63,) Are three pulleys, on thelevel railroad (A) about the length of one car, from the place where thelevel and inclined road meets. (c, e, 6,) Three horizontal rollers onthe very junction ofthe level road and inclined plane, one at eachcenter of the tracks, to prevent the ropes (f, f,) from being injured byfriction. (C, C,) two cars, made to fit and to run on said rails (c, c,0,); these two cars being the working cars and the third one (D,) beingthe reserve car in case of accident. (g, g, g, g, &c.,) The wheels ofsaid cars. (t, it, h, t,) The platfo-rms and frames of the body of thecars, strongly connected. (z', z', z', z', &c.,) Cleats or cross piecesfastened on the platforms at a proper distance one from the other, so asto admit between them the free entrance of the brick-molds, (7c 7c) thesaid cleats being exactly as high as the molds. (lo, lc, is, 7c, &c.)showing, some molds between the cleats on the platform, the moldsthemselves being arranged for one or more bricks in one frame.

(E) Represents a heavy roller of 12 or all three tracks, andv in a rightangle, the rails. This f rollerl (E) isfs'o arranged' as'to be aboutonehalf of an inclia'byethe Aupper edge of the ,molds, whenk the .carpasses underv the roller Another rollerA some Vdistance down the"iiiclined plane, vperfectly similar to the above described, with the'exception that this roller (F) presses, close upon the molds, and theroller revolves upon the upper edges of the brick-molds, and cleat-s.(G, Gr, G,) Three scrapers made of iron, plow shaped, fixed in anloblique position of about 45 degrees, with the line of the rails, thesescrapers being so fixed that a space of one-half an inch ,is leftbetween the under edge of the scrapers and the upper jaws of the molds,when passing under them. (H) The finishing or polishing knife, situatedbelow and in a short distance from the lower roller (F) reaching clearacross the three tracks of the inclined plane, and fixed in an angle of45 degrees with the line of the rails. This finishing knife has itslower face flat and smooth, the upper back part is bent up, or has aprojection of one half of an inch,- this knife is so fixed that thelower. face passes exactly over the upper parts of the brick-molds, whenthe car passes under it.-

Now the operation. The clay being prepared near the level part (or upperpart) of the railroad (A). The cars (C, 0,) being connected by the rope(f, f,) which rope is carried over the pulleys, (d, al,) and arrangedso, that when the one car is at the level track (A,) the other beingthen at the lower extremity of the inclined plane (B). The third car (D)being left unconnected as a reserve car, as before mentioned. The moldson the platform of the car and' upon the level railroad (A,) beingheaped, and filled with prepared clay-the car is then pushed by hand tothe inclined plane, where, it will descend by its own gravity, and, inpassing under the first roller (E) the clay is forced and pressed intothe molds,-in passing farther down, Linder the scraper (Gr) the surplusof the clay above the mold is cut off, and by the sloping position ofthe Scrapers, the surplus clay so cut 0E is thrown through the open4framework of the inclined plane to the ground. The car, in passing stillfarther, meeting the second roller (F), Where, the clay so projectingabove the molds, is exposed to another pressure more powerful, (theroller touching the molds themselves)leaving this roller (F) the `moldspass under the finishing knife (H,) which finishes the process,-and thecar at the stopping place, at the lower extremity of the inclined plane,may be unloaded,`the finished bricks with the molds removed, and otherempty molds replaced-for another operation.

The empty car, which was at the commencementof the operation at the footof the inclined plane, will be at the top of the level road (A) when theload car with the bricks lands at the foot of the s1ope,- the two carsbeing connected by the rope (f, f,) and through the pulleys (d, d,) willof course, when t-he loaded car descends,

pull up hill the empty one. The empty car is then loaded, and pusheddown the inclined plane as before, whereby the operation is continueduninterrupted.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is,

l. The mode of making bricks in descend* ing an inclined plane asheretofore described; and in combination therewith I claim the rollersto press the clay into the molds in the manner as described herein byone or more rollers.

2. Also in combination with the above I claim the Scrapers and finishingor polishing knife for the purpose and use as mentioned above in thismode of making bricks.

SAMUEL LOWERY.

Witnesses i JOHN FAY, WM. FISCHER.

